A Thousand Days Later
by Sroloc Elbisivni
Summary: It's been nearly three years. Three years since the South Pole. Three years since Wally vanished. The League, broken by the loss, was aggressively pre-empted by their heartbroken former protégées, bent on making a better world. Under their rule, the Earth has no crime, no poverty, no violence…and no choice. But when Wally returns, thrust into this future by the energy that...
1. Things Change

**Summary:**

**It's been nearly three years. Three years since the South Pole. Three years since Wally vanished. The League, broken by the loss, was aggressively pre-empted by their heartbroken former protégées, bent on making a better world. Under their rule, the Earth has no crime, no poverty, no violence…and no choice. But when Wally returns, thrust into this future by the energy that should have killed him, what will happen to their society? Will Wally make them question everything they have come to irrevocably believe over the past three years? Or will they be able to convince him that it has to be this way?**

**I have returned! Yes, I should probably be working on "A Year's Worth of Strange Things" but I read this prompt and a plunny was created and it ran away with me. What fun!**

**Okay, so this is based on the prompt found in chapter 15 of the AMAZING MathisMagic's story "Fixations" asking someone to write out a version of the Justice Lords set on Earth-16. For people who haven't seen JLU, basically, the seven founders are kidnapped by alternate versions of them from a universe where Wally, the Flash, was killed, which resulted in a hostile takeover of Earth. Here's the full prompt.**

_**So, as per several theories, Wally actually got sent forward into the future after the Episode-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named. When he pops out, though, it's nothing like what he expected. Without him, the League went rogue a la "A Better World." They're thrilled to have him back, of course, even if they have to keep him on lockdown and in an inhibitor collar until he 'understands how things have to be now.' I kinda feel like it should be the senior members of the Team who are in charge, rather than the League as we know it, but eh, details.**_

_**I just have this really strong image of Wally being a sort of 'kept man' to the Earth's emperors and empresses as he tries to remind them of the way things used to be (and hey, if they convince him their way is better, that works too.) I can just totally see him trying to hang with the 'common people' and them being like **_**this**_** is Artemis's consort/Nightwing's best friend.**_

**So this stuck in my head and started cooking and after many, many, rewatchings of "A Better World" (which remains my favorite JL episode) and much reading of Wally-centric fanfiction, I am finally able to present the beginning of this story. I hope you enjoy it. Small note: Anything up to Wally's death in the last episode is canon. The rest of the episode is fair game and may or may not be accurate. **

**And unlike my other stories, this one will not contain Nightwalker. No matter how much I really, really, want it to. Damn.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah. Is Young Justice still on hiatus? Then there's an excellent chance I do not own it.**

* * *

**Watchtower-Beta**

**March 10, 2019**

**12:04 UTC**

Miss Martian stands on the deck of the recently-built Watchtower, which is filled with workers at their stations, giving their reports. This Watchtower is very different from the original one, which is now off-limits to anyone but the Lords. This one is purely functional, housing hundreds of monitor banks that keep watch over the entire world. The hourly reports are coming in, keeping them notified of the conditions below.

"Sector 7, all-clear."

"Sector 10, alert terminated."

"Sector 11, all-clear."

"Sector 19, all-clear."

"Sector 33, all-clear."

"Sector 50, all-clear."

"Sector 42, report delayed."

M'gann spins on her heel and walks over. _:What's the trouble?:_ the Martian asks telepathically. She hasn't used speech to communicate with anyone outside the Lords in months. She doesn't wait for a response. It's a waste of time when she can simply reach into the man's head and pluck the information she needs from it.

_:Ah. A storm. Everyone's been evacuated, nothing we can do.: _She leaves the terminal and flies up to hover above the floor. _:Continue. Sector 30.: _The reports continue, but her brow is furrowed. _We've fixed everything else. There must be a way to fix these storms._ She makes a mental note to bring it up at the next meeting.

"All-clear."

"Sector 35, all-clear."

* * *

Elsewhere, Kaldur has communications open with the President. "I am sorry, but what you are suggesting does not seem prudent at this time."

"Well, it's kind of a tradition, y'know? Like Thanksgiving, or, or football. Folks aren't going to be too happy."

"They seem happy enough to me. And an election bears very little resemblance to football. There is much more to be lost."

"True enough." But the man would not let this go. "So…when do you think it might be a good time to have one?"

Kaldur holds back a sigh. _Luthor was elected. And look how that turned out. Elections are far too risky._ That would be impolitic, however. So he merely says, "Patience, Mr. President. Patience." Kaldur ends the call, and calls out, "Batwoman!"

Barbara's head pops up from her computer banks, and she makes her way over.

"Yes?"

"I will be journeying to Atlantis. I wish to see how King Garth is doing. You will remain behind to take command in my stead."

She nods and moves into his position, watching over the workers. He turns and headed for the Zeta tubes.

After they had removed the League from office, the next order of business had been Atlantis. King Orin had been taken care of, just like the rest of the League. Since Kaldur had refused the throne, it had been entrusted it to Garth instead. La'gaan was now the head of his guards.

* * *

Wonder Woman, formerly known as Donna Troy, and Red Hood, who had been the second Robin, both stand on the upper deck of the Beta-Watchtower. Both of them had returned to the Team after Wally's death, at the behest of Kaldur in order to depose their respective mentors. Donna wore her old costume of black and silver, with a few minor upgrades. And since Nightwing rarely left the Batcave, consumed by his hunt for some evidence that Wally was alive, Jason was the senior representative of the Batclan to the Lords.

"Looking at it—it's so peaceful. You'd never know just what a mess it used to be," Donna remarks.

"It was a hellhole, alright," Jason says, leaning on the railing. "I just can't believe that the League never got their act together. If it hadn't been for us…"

"Guess you were right all along," Donna concludes. "It's just a pity it took the rest of us so long to see it."

They had taken down a lot of villains, working together. And really taken them down—not just thrown them into jail and waited for them to break out. Why try and patch a broken system when you could just build a new system that actually worked?

Donna looks over at the wall where a hologram is projected, a picture showing the eight founding members of the Team. Rocket and Zatanna left the League to return to their old friends after the…incident, and are out on assignment right now. Artemis—now Tigress—is probably tracking down the last remnants of the League of Shadows. Superboy (now –man) is pulling public duty in Metropolis. But the most heartbreaking part of the picture is Wally, red hair tousled and green eyes shining as he smiles his familiar carefree life-is-great grin at the camera. He stands in the center of the group with one arm slung over Artemis's shoulder and one over Robin's, but his smile includes everyone around him.

"I keep expecting him to come running in at any moment," Jason says, looking over the globe below.

"And then say something really stupid, right?" Donna asks him with a wry grin.

Jason chuckles. "There was that," he admits.

"I miss him too, Jason," she says, quietly. "We all do."

There's a beeping from the screen. "Protest in Sector 34," Batwoman announces. "Could get ugly."

"We can take care of it," Donna offers.

"The police have it handled."

"Yes, but it's always good to show we have our eyes on things," the new Wonder Woman says, firmly.

Batwoman lets out a sigh. "Fine, if you're so desperate for a fight, go ahead."

* * *

**Metropolis**

**March 10, 2019**

**8:34 EDT**

Wonder Woman and Red Hood land on the roof of the building directly across the street from the Metro Tower. There are dozens of college students outside the base, waving signs and yelling about elections. Jason's fingers twitch for his guns, but Donna's hand on his arm stops him.

"No killing. It's just civilians. We start openly killing civvies and they never trust us again."

"Or we finally get the fucking point across," he growls. The protests bug him more than they should, but _seriously!_

_People never cared when Gotham was a fucking shithole. Why are they so fucking worked up now, especially when the world's better off?_

"_Elections now! Elections now! Elections now!"_

Jason's eye roll is hidden by his helmet. _These idiots have no idea what they're asking for. Why does everyone care so much about fucking elections? You scribble something on a piece of paper and toss it in with a hundred other piss-poor votes like 'em just to wind up with some shmuck bastard running the show who'll wreck everything anyway. _

"There's the police," Donna says, pointing down the street. They're marching in formation, riot armor on and shields raised. One of them launches a tear gas bomb, the students throw rocks in retaliation, and Jason starts to reach for his grapple gun. Wonder Woman puts her arm over his chest.

"Wait."

The kid who started the rock-throwing points up at them and shouts something. The students immediately start to scatter in all directions, the police catching and cuffing enough of them to make a point.

"Remember when people actually liked us?" Donna wonders aloud.

Jason shot her a look. "Since when has that bothered you?"

She looks at him with concern in her eyes. "Since I started seeing the fear on everyone's faces."

"You wanna talk about fear? When I was a kid, I went to bed every fucking night not sure if I was going to wake up to see the morning. So did everyone else in Crime Alley. That was just the way things were, and people accepted it. They didn't think there could be a better way, but we found one."

"So, do you sleep better now?" Donna asks with a suggestive smirk.

Jason's answering feral grin is hidden by his mask. "You know I do."

* * *

**The Batcave**

**March 10, 2019**

**10:11 EDT**

Nightwing bends over the computer, focusing on scanning for energy signatures. He didn't care that it had been almost three years. There was no evidence of a body, not even of scorching from disintegration. Wally wasn't dead. He couldn't be.

"Dick," a voice says from behind. Nightwing turned around to see Red Robin stepping out of the shadows.

"What is it, Tim?" he asks, sharply. "I need some time. I'm on a new lead here…"

"No, you're not."

Nightwing spins around to glare at his younger brother, who holds up his hands in a placating gesture. "Dick, we've been over this for over two years now. We have checked every energy signature, every trace, every _anything_ that might possibly give us a clue. We've found nothing. It's time to move on."

"We can't!" Nightwing snaps. "If there's even a chance that he's alive, we _have_ to find it! I'm not giving up!"

"Well, maybe it's time!" Tim yells back. "We worked for years to build this world up from the ground, and you won't even see it because you're too busy hiding in this cave! You're turning into Bruce!"

Dick, who has turned back to the computer, spins around again to give Tim his most deadly glare. "Don't you _ever_ compare me to him," he says, angrily. "He tried to destroy his friends. I'm trying to save mine."

"You're chasing down the ghost of a friend who's been gone for years and leaving the rest of us to rot," Tim says in a voice that was closer to a snarl. "Is that what Wally would want?"

Dick turns back to the computer. "When I find him, I'll ask him," he says in a deadly voice. "And I _will_ find him."

Tim stands there, not speaking. The faint _whoosh_ of air that only a Bat could detect is the sole indicator that the third person to take up the mantle of Robin has left.

* * *

**A lot of this chapter borrowed heavily from "A Better World, Part 1."**

**So what do you think? Finish, ditch, keep as a single chapter to terrify you and hold you in suspense? It'll take me a little while between chapters, but the next one will be up in a week. **

**This chapter was mostly Lord-centric to freak you guys out. Any explanations will come from Wally's viewpoint. If there's anything you want to see when Wally comes back, please let me know!**

**As always, REVIEW!**


	2. Wally's Not-So-Triumphant Return

**North Pole**

**June 20, 2016—? **

**13:55 UTC**

_Cold. So cold. Of course it's cold, they're at the top of the world. His legs are starting to burn. He's out of shape. He hasn't had to do this in a while. _

_He knows the physics, of course. He knew what might happen as soon as he stepped into the Zeta tubes. _

_But they can't stop now. They can't stop until the alien tech is busted, or the Earth will fall. _

_That can't happen._

_Suddenly, the burning sensation is gone, replaced by a tingly feeling. The lightning from the machine is crackling around them. He screams as it strikes him, again and again. He starts to flicker, feeling his form fading in and out. _

_Barry tries to place a hand on his shoulder, but it just passes through._

"_It's no good, Barry. Oh, man! Artemis is _so_ gonna kill me for this. And don't even get me started on Mom and Dad." He tries to be brave, but he can hear his voice quiver. _

"_Kid?" Barry demands, panic in his voice._

"_Just tell them," he says, quietly. Barry will know exactly what he means. There's no point keeping up the jokes. Not when they all know what's happening. "Okay?" His voice doesn't crack. It rasps, but it doesn't crack. _

"_KID!" he hears Barry yell. He can feel himself disintegrate, swept away by the energy. That's where his awareness ends._

_He's caught up in some massive force. It's circling around him, extending farther than he can comprehend in either direction. Where is he? What happened?_

_He's not dead. That's clear enough. Can he run?_

_He can, and he does. He runs in place, forcing himself at the outside, trying to break free. It takes a while, but he rams himself into the wall hard enough to break through. He's falling forward, face-planting on icy tundra. There's a vague recognition in his mind, but nothing clear as the world blurs to black._

* * *

**Watchtower-Prime**

**March 17****th****, 2019**

**13:57 UTC**

Batwoman, also known as Barbara Gordon, is monitoring global energy readings as part of her shift. There are the usual spikes from the Zeta tubes, a few additional ones from nuclear reactor sites, and—

Whoa. For some reason, the North Pole is going _crazy._ She hasn't seen energy readings like this since—since—

No. Way.

She slams her hand onto her comm so hard that she almost deafens herself with the feedback. But that is inconsequential. "Bart. Get your ass to the North Pole. _Now."_

"_Wha…?_"

Clearly, the speedster had been consumed in his favorite pastime—eating. "North Pole. Ten seconds ago. Energy signatures matching Reach tech."

"_Gone._" There's a _whoosh,_ a spike of energy on the holographic globe streaking from somewhere in Tokyo to the North Pole, and the sound of a falling sandwich on the other end of the comm. That's the last recognizable sound before Bart degenerates into a babble of speedtalk. She catches her name, the sound of several swears that would make even the most profane abuser of the English language pause in awe, a few mentions of time travel, and more incomprehensible blabber about crashed

modes before she loses patience.

"Bart Allen, what the hell is happening?"

The pause on the other end almost makes her scream, but the answer that comes is worth it. Because after that answer, she will swear that the stars outside the window shine brighter, the beige floor is more colorful, the scent of flowers from the indoor arboretum is sweeter, and the green decorations Garfield insisted on putting up ("Come on! A _green holiday?_ This was _made_ for me!") are that much more verdant. Because that answer makes the red-haired memorial hologram that can be seen from anywhere on the upper decks smile just a little bit wider. Because the answer means that for the first time in a thousand days, there's that much more brightness and hope back in the world.

Because Bart's answer is: "_It's Wally. He's—alive!"_

It only takes a matter of seconds for Bart to bring Wally to the nearest Zeta tube and beam him up to the Watchtower, and it takes only minutes to confirm what they actually need to know. Yes, it is Wally. Yes, he is theirs. No, this is not a clone or a Cadmus trick. Yes, he is alive.

At first it is kept quiet, under wraps. The only three people who know are M'gann, Barbara, and Bart. But as soon as everything is checked out, there's no point hiding. The call goes out immediately.

Dick is the first to show up, surprising no one. He stops dead at the door of the hospital room, stares for five minutes, lets out a long string of indecipherable Romani expletives, gives Wally's unconscious form a bone-cracking hug, and settles in to keep watch and glare at anyone else who enters the room.

Artemis is the next to arrive. She comes in slowly, her cat-face mask off but her

poker face on, studying Wally intently from all angles. Finally, she sinks into a chair next to his bed and takes his hand in a death grip, ignoring the tears that trickle down her cheeks.

Kaldur and Conner arrive simultaneously. Both of them take a moment to stare at Wally's prone form before standing protectively next to his bed. M'gann joins them to complete the circle.

Wally looks so young—younger than any of them, really. It's not just the fact that he's still twenty-one, the same age as Dick now. There's still a sense of innocence to his face that the rest of them lost in their takeover of the Earth.

One thought is echoing among them, even without the mind link.

_Wally is back. Our Wally is back. Our friend, our _brother,_ is alive. And we are going to keep him that way._

"What will he think?" Conner asks suddenly. "What will he try to do?"

They all exchange glances.

"He will not understand," Kaldur says. "Not at first. We will have to explain it to him. But before then, he might be…difficult."

_:We might have to contain him: _M'gann adds. _:I find the idea as distasteful as the rest of you, but perhaps…an inhibitor collar? Just until he understands the way things have to be now?:_

"I have some in the Cave," Dick says. They all look at him, slightly surprised. He shrugs, unfazed. "What? I have one to block the powers of anyone on the League or Team. Just in case."

"I'll go get it," Conner said. "When do we let everyone else know?"

They exchange glances, but it is Artemis who decides. "When he wakes up."

* * *

**Watchtower-Prime**

**March 17****th**

**15:44 UTC**

Wally wakes up slowly. He's lying in a hospital bed, which he's honestly used to after spending so much time in one during his Kid Flash days.

_Mmmm. God, my head hurts. What happened?_

He quickly takes inventory. _Head, obviously. Arm, arm, leg, leg, torso, all in good shape. _A small movement, however, sends aches shooting through his body. _Okay. Maybe not good shape. But okay shape._

"Wally?" The voice is choked and almost strangled, as though it's lost hope too many times before to hope now. Blearily, he flutters his eyelids enough to see the source of the voice. A familiar head of blonde hair greets him, though the costume she wears is different._ Is she still on an undercover mission?_

"Hey, babe. How's my favorite ninja girlfriend?"

Before he can pull away, Wally is yanked into a deep, passionate kiss with his girlfriend. There's more than a hint of desperation to it, however.

"Whoa, babe!" he says, pulling away.

"You're an idiot, Baywatch," she mutters, wiping roughly at her eyes. "Don't _ever _do that again."

"Wally?" Another familiar voice. Wally looks up to see Nightwing entering the room hesitantly.

"Hey, Wingnut! How's tricks?"

Dick gives him a relieved smile, but it doesn't last long, vanishing as quickly as a bag of Chicken Whizzees in Bart's possession. "Wally, what's the last thing you remember?"

Wally takes a moment to think about it. "Well, I was with Uncle Barry and Bart, and we were at the North Pole, and we were doing the whole run-to-shut-down-evil-alien-tech thing, Then that creepy energy stats to zap me, and after that it all goes kinda fuzzy. Next thing I know, I'm here. Why?" As he talks, he reaches up to rub at the back of his neck in an unconscious gesture and touches a thin, cool band of metal. "What the—"

It's a hunch, but one he can't ignore. Wally attempts to vibrate, just to prove to himself that _no_, it can't be what he's thinking, _no_, this can't be happening, _no,_ his friends wouldn't do this to him.

Any attempts to access his super-speed are futile. Even without it though, he has years of training with Black Canary to fall back on. He rolls off the bed and lands on his feet in a defensive stance, keeping the cot between himself and the people who have _got_ to be imposters, or clones, or shapeshifters, because _no way_ would his friends _ever_ put an _inhibitor collar_ on him.

"Who are you?" he demands, glaring at the two of them coldly.

Not-Artemis gets this heartbroken look on her face. "Wally—"

"Who are you? Where're my friends? What have you done to them? If you hurt them, I swear—"

"Wally, you need to listen to us. It's not like what you think. Things have changed. We've changed." Not-Nightwing is trying to talk, but he's not making any sense.

"I was just at the North Pole! How long was I out?"

"_Wally._" Not-Artemis is speaking again. But—she looks so familiar. Is it possible…? "It's been three years."

He freezes. "What." It's not a question. It's too shocked, full of too much disbelief to be a question.

"Wally, as far as the world knows, Kid Flash died on June 20th, 2016, while using his kinetic energy to counter a piece of Reach tech. That's what we thought, too." Not-Nightwing/Real-Nightwing (?) says, and there's so much pain in his voice that Wally knows it can't be a lie. "Today is March 17th, 2019. Exactly one thousand days since you vanished."

"That still doesn't explain why my best pal and my girlfriend stuck an _inhibitor collar_ on me," he says in an angry voice.

"Things have changed, Wally," Maybe-Nightwing repeats. "Changed for the better."

"Oh yeah?"

"_Yes,_" Maybe-Artemis says. "Please, will you just _listen_?"

Wally hesitates. He doesn't know whether to answer yes or no when there's a commotion outside the door. He hears Conner yelling, Kaldur giving orders, and Babs threatening death.

"Come on, _jefes,_ just let us see him."

_Who's that?_

"ComeoncomeonyougottaletmeinIgottaseehim!"

Wally blinks. Speedtalk—is that Bart?

"Bart?" he asks, aloud. There's an instant of silence before the door is broken down and an overeager young speedster, a teen in blue armor, another teen with dark brown skin and straggling dreadlocks, and a green tiger burst into the room. They all tackle Wally at once, babbling in English, Spanish, speedtalk, and occasionally a mix of all three.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on?" Wally demands, trying to push away. It's rather difficult, however, to pry off the red-and-white garbed cousin that has attached himself to his side.

"Bart?" Wally asks. His cousin has grown since the last time Wally saw him.

"You'realiveyou'realiveyou'rereallyaliveandyourehereandit'sallokaynowandyou're _alive!_" Bart babbles.

"Whoa. Bart, _slow down._" Wally manages to look up from his hyperactive cousin and see Garfield Logan, Blue Beetle, and some kid he doesn't recognize. "Um, who's this?"

The kid waves. "Virgil Hawkins. Static. You must be Wally West."

"Yeah. _Oof._ Hi. Bart, can you get off me now?"

"No."

"Oooo-kaaay…Bart, seriously. Let go."

There's a final squeeze that knocks the wind out of him before Bart reluctantly peels himself away. He still doesn't stay more than a foot back. Any attempt at relief from the hugging brigade is a futile exercise, however, as Garfield, thankfully now back in human form, tackles him as well.

"What's with all the hugging?" Wally demands.

"I'm just so happy you're alive!" M'gann's little brother cries. "And you!" He keeps one arm around the speedster, but points the other one at Nightwing. "I told you. No more faking anybody's death for at least a year."

Nightwing gives a small smile. "We didn't plan this, Gar."

"Yeah, right."

"Listen, can you guys leave now? We need to talk to Wally."

The four teens exchanged looks. "But…"

Artemis narrows her eyes. "_Go._"

Gar gives Wally one last squeeze, waves, and follows the others out of the room. Wally watches as the door shut behind them, and turns back to Artemis and Dick before starting to pace.

"Okay. Let's say that, hypothetically, I actually believe what you're telling me. I accept that…somehow…I got sucked into a vortex or whatever and wound up two years in the future." He gestures around the room. "I know for a fact that the Mountain got destroyed, and I've spent so much time in the medical rooms there _and_ in the Hall of Justice—also decimated—that I'd know them anywhere. We are _not_ in Mount Justice, so we must be on the Watchtower. If that's the case—" he spins around to stare them both in the face. "Why isn't Batman or Uncle Barry in here breathing down my neck right now?"

The silence coming from them is terrifying and all the answer he needs.

"Where are they?" he asks, almost afraid of the answer.

Artemis stares him directly in the eyes. "Things have changed, Wally."

He is so, so, sick of that phrase right now.

"Will you quit saying that?" Wally wants to break something. "What have you guys _done?_"

Nightwing's eyes are cold. "Made a better world, Wally."

_They think…they honestly think…God._

He turns away bitterly, facing the wall. "Get out."

"Wally…"

"_Get. Out._ Both of you."

He hears a small sound, as though Artemis just choked on a sob, but he doesn't look. He knows that if he looks, he won't be able to do this. And he has to do this. He has to be cold.

There's a sound of a door opening and closing, and he knows that they are gone. Wally falls across his hospital bed, rubbing his hand across his new piece of 'jewelry.'

_I just woke up when I thought I never would again. I beat the alien invasion and stopped the end of the world._

_So why does it feel…like I didn't?_

* * *

Outside the hospital room, the teen working on the inside to help regain control of the world reaches up to touch his comm. It's been specially reinforced to slip past Barbara's sensors, a feat that should be impossible.

But as he's learned in the last three years, nothing is impossible anymore.

"Did you get all that?"

He speaks in a whisper, barely moving his lips. The microphone glued to his throat picks up the vibrations and changes them into sound as part of the transmission. The person on the other end views the video footage from the special iris-camera that's now in a contact lens on the teen's eye. When sneaking a spy into the ranks of the Justice Lords, it's best to be discreet.

"_Yes. It's him._"

"What now?"

"_Now, we wait. We've been working too long to slip up and get caught now."_

"You do know we're on a time limit."

"_Better than you do. But we still need to finish putting everything together. He may be what we've been waiting for, or he may be what puts us on the losing side for good. If we play our cards right, we fix everything. Play them wrong, and we're stuck like this without another hope. For now, just keep an eye on him. We'll get him to the surface soon enough."_

"Copy that. Signing off." The teen turns off the transmission and slips back into the main hall to join the other three.

They don't know what he's doing. And if the plan works, they never will.

* * *

**Wow. Here we are again!**

**The response on this thing has been awesome! 15 followers and 5 favorites already? You guys are amazing! Thank you!**

**Wally's back! So now things can finally start happening. Sorry if this is rushed or weird or anything.  
**

**So, questions for you. Who do you think is the spy? And more importantly, who do you think was on the other end? I'm really hoping it isn't too obvious…**

**And is there anyone on the Lords that you want to see show up next chapter?**

**The next chapter will be up in a week at the most. It all depends on how fast I get the next one written. I really hope that this one lived up to your expectations.**

**As always, REVIEW!**

**Mailbox Time!**

**Eesanchez95: Good to hear from you as always. Sorry your life is insanity right now! Good luck with graduation stuff. I'm glad you're liking this fic.**

**FlightfootKeyseeker: Yeah! I looked around for anything based off the prompt, and was **_**so**_** disappointed when I didn't find anything. That did motivate me to write this, though, so I guess it's good.**

**Piggythelaw: Thank you!**

**Erik-Silver: Thanks. I can't wait to see what you do with this! I hope you like my take on it.**


	3. Old Faces and Lost Family

**Watchtower-Prime**

**March 17****th**

**16:31 UTC**

Wally's laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, when there's a knock at the door.

"Unless you're either willing to take off the inhibitor collar or tell me where my family is, you can just stay out there!" he yells.

"Dude, I've got food out here, and if you won't eat it, I will." a recognizable voice calls from the other side of the door.

Wally blinks. _Is that really…_

He slowly gets to his feet and opens the door.

A familiar figure stands there. The height and white streak in the dark hair aren't familiar, but the sardonic grin, sunglasses, and voice totally are.

"Jason?"

"The one and only. Plan on letting me in?"

He's holding a tray piled high with burgers, fries, fruit, veggies, sausages, cookies, and other food items that Wally's stomach recognizes. It immediately starts up a chorus of growls, reminding him that he hasn't eaten in—

_Whoa. Two years. Man, time travel sucks._

Wally tries to snatch the tray, but Jason lifts it away. "Move, West."

The speedster scoots out of the way as the second, former Robin enters the room and sets the food down. Wally's on it in an instant, devouring the food. Even though he's got the collar on, it hasn't shut down his metabolism.

_Stupid piece of junk._

After he's gotten enough food in him that he doesn't feel the urge to devour the bed, he eats at a more leisurely pace while watching Jason, who has settled into a careful slump on the wall. The lazy posture hides the fact that he's ready to jump into action at any moment.

"So, mmf, why are you really here?" Wally asks, swallowing a mouthful. "And—_how_ are you here? Sorry, but aren't you dead?"

"Look who's talking, mega mouth."

Wally rolls his eyes. "Fine. Point made. Well, my story's that same old boring time travel spiel you already got from Wingnut, so you spill."

"Very long story, very small nutshell. Lazarus pits. Ra's al fucking Ghul. Guy decided he 'owed' Bats for getting involved with the Joker, so he resurrected me. Busted out of his complex, ran around Gotham for a couple months. Bird-brain and Replacement found me and offered me a 'position' taking down the rest of those fucking Shadows. As for the why…" he gives a shrug. "Figured you might wanna talk to another guy who spent a couple of years being dead."

Wally finishes off the fries. "Does that mean I get answers now?"

Jason settles into a chair and tips it back against the wall, propping his feet up on the bed. "Well, I haven't been cleared by the Golden Boy…but when has that ever stopped me?"

The former Kid Flash settles on his own chair, facing backwards, setting his arms on top of the chair back and putting his chin on them. "So spill. What the hell happened to everyone while I was gone?"

Jason lets out a sigh and rubs his head. "Right after you _kkkccchhh?_" He yanks a finger across his throat to illustrate his point. "Honestly, I don't know. All of a sudden, the Justice League vanishes, the UN gets shut down, and so does every other government organization on the face of the planet. The Team goes public, calling themselves the Justice Lords, and takes over. All that good old batshit crazy stuff. That's when I came in. I helped 'em take down the baddies, for good. That's what we do now. They can't hurt anyone, can't trick the system, can't play for a light sentence. The crime rates have dropped to zero."

Wally feels slightly sick, and he has a feeling it isn't from the food. "And…the League?"

Jason shrugs but at least has the decency not to look him in the eyes. "I don't know. And at this point, I don't care."

That's when Wally gets just how much everything has changed. The coldness in Jason's demeanor acts as a mental bucket of ice water to the face.

_God._

Wally closes his eyes and face-plants on his arms.

"Tell me something," he says to the room. "Have I gone crazy? Am I in a hospital right now with a padded cell and nice doctors coming along and telling me to take the nice pills to make the visions go away?"

His attempt at a joke falls horribly flat, and he hears Jason let out a loud, exasperated sigh.

There isn't even a knock to alert them to Conner, who barges into the room and flops on a chair. Wally raises an eyebrow. The Kryptonian hybrid's undergone a costume change since the last time Wally's seen him. He's dressed in a version of Superman's outfit, except it's black and red instead of blue and red. And, a total shock—he's wearing a cape.

"Aren't you the same guy that said, 'No capes, no tights?'" Wally asks, squinting at the outfit. "And, 'I hate monkey suits?'"

Conner rubs his eyes. "Part of the job description now." He directs a glare at Jason. "What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, you know. Providing room service. Chatting with a fellow dead guy. The usual." He returned the glare.

Wally just barely held back a sigh. It seemed that the two of them still didn't get along. Their first meeting, a few years ago, had not gone well. Jason had been visiting the Cave for the first time, dressed in the Robin costume, and had tried to flirt with M'gann after making a crack at Superboy about being a clone. Friction had been creating itself ever since. Even coming back from the dead apparently hadn't granted Jason amnesty.

"So!" Wally says, trying to break the mood. He has his always-happy mask on, the one he's perfected after years of defusing tense situations. "Food was great, but apparently, I have been out of it for a couple years. So, I am now _extremely_ curious about what the Watchtower looks like now. Who's up for giving me a tour?"

Both of the other men exchange a 'should-we-tell-him?' look.

Wally's really starting to hate that look. It's usually followed up by a 'things have changed.'

"Wally…" Conner starts in a too-patient tone.

"If you say 'things have changed,' I'm going to steal some Kryptonite from Nightwing and shove it down your throat," Wally snaps.

Jason snorts. "Hell, I'll sell you some."

"Shut up," Conner mutters.

Wally lets out a loud groan and flings his head back. It promptly slams into the wall.

"Ow," he says with a hint of surprise, rubbing the sore spot. "How long has the wall been there? Seriously, is there any way I can get out of this room? I am going _crazy._"

"Is it even possible to tell anymore with you?" Jason asks.

Wally clutches dramatically at his chest. "Oh, that hurts. But I still need to get out of this room. Hey!" He pointed a finger at both of them. "No changing the subject. Am I getting out of here?"

"Not yet," Jason admits. "We're waiting for Nightwing to clear you."

A scowl creeps across the redhead's face as he remembers meeting his old friend again. "Fine. In that case, where the hell is my uncle?"

At this point, Wally isn't really expecting an answer. He just wants an excuse to yell at them.

Jason shoots a significant glance at Conner. "Yeah, Boy Scout the second. Where _is_ the League? Or wait, am I not _trusted_ enough to know that? I mean, I've only spent what, a _year_ or two saving your collective asses?"

"Whoa, wait. Is?" Wally knows that this is just the continuation of some argument he's missed, but the phrasing caught his attention. "They're alive?"

Jason looks like he's caught somewhere between chagrin and a smirk. Conner just goes into his stony-faced silence mode.

"I have to go," Conner says. "Hood, Batwoman's looking for you." He gets up and leaves, taking the tray. Jason follows.

And Wally is once more left alone in the hospital room with his frustration and boredom.

He vows vengeance on the next person to walk through the door.

* * *

**Watchtower-Prime**

**March 17**

**19:12 UTC**

By the time Bart comes in, dressed in civvies, Wally has retracted said vow on the condition that whoever comes in is willing to provide either answers or more food.

His cousin has neither, so Wally is ready and willing to throw him out again.

Unfortunately, Bart has the access code overrides for the door and Wally does not, so the older speedster has no choice but to put a pillow over his head and ignore his cousin until he goes away.

It doesn't work.

The pillow is yanked unceremoniously away and a fist raps a superspeed tattoo against his head.

"What is that for?'

"Up and at em, cuz! Modes to crash, stuff to do, people to meet!"

"Yeah, well, I'm under house arrest and in an inhibitor collar, and I don't really want to crash anything. So just, _go away._ Thank you."

"Oh, c'mon! I got special permission from Nightwing to spring you for a walk around the Tower. So let's go already!"

Wally lifts his head, a spark of interest popping up for the first time. "Seriously?"

"Tchh, dude. You doubt my skills?"

"Well…"

"Don't answer that. Let's go!"

Bart grabs Wally's arm and hauls him off the bed and out the door, chattering away as fast as he can go. Wally semi-ignores him, until he realizes a very important fact. The younger speedster has been here since Wally's 'death,' and Barry is his grandfather. Doesn't it make sense that he would keep tabs on him?

"Hey, Bart, do you know what happened to Uncle B?"

The time traveler freezes.

"What? Um, no, no! I mean, why would I know, right? That's all Lord stuff, and I'm technically still on the Team, but...you know what I mean! Anyway…"

"Bart, where's Barry?" Wally demands again. "Where's the rest of the League?"

Miraculously, Bart actually looks serious for once. He sighs and lets go of Wally's arm before running a hand through his hair.

"I don't know. No one on the Team does. It's just the older five, and they won't tell us. We know they aren't dead, because they wouldn't do that, but…"

"I don't know," Wally says bitterly. "Seems like they've done a lot of stuff they 'never would have'."

"Yeah, but…things really are better."

"Oh yeah?"

"Wally…" Bart stops outside a porthole and gestures at the Earth. "They—we've—really done it. Made a world where there's no crime, no violence, no pain—"

"And no choice." Wally spins around to face his little cousin. "And you're just _okay_ with all of this? Killing people who step out of line? They may make mistakes, but they're still _people_, Bart! Since when has _killing_ them been okay?"

"Since Captain Cold killed Grandma Iris!" Bart bursts out. He immediately claps his hands over his mouth, looking horrified.

Wally stops dead in the middle of the hallway.

_I didn't just hear that. I couldn't have just heard that. There is no possible way I just heard that._

"What?" Wally whispers.

Bart looks terrified, guilty, and on the verge of tears all at the same time. "I wasn't supposed to—Nightwing told me not shock you—I'm sorry!"

"Bart," Wally says gently, trying not to traumatize his cousin any more than he already is. "What happened?

Impulse looks ready to crawl into a hole and die himself, so Wally helps him over to a bench and puts an arm around his shoulders. It takes Bart a few minutes to get himself together, but once he does, the story isn't one Wally wants to hear.

"It—it was a couple months after you—after you—" he gulps and chokes. "Well, after…the North Pole. The Team was devastated. Nightwing vanished for a month and we found him again dead drunk, yelling at your grave."

Wally blinks at this bit of news. "Seriously?"

Bart nods. "He still won't talk about what happened. Anyway, after he got back, the older members started acting really weird. Secret meetings, muttered conversations, avoiding the League. I kept catching them around the Watchtower, but they wouldn't talk to me. It was so moded.

"Anyway, I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible. I was filling in as Kid Flash for a bit, trying to help out Uncle B. One day, we got an alert—Cold was attacking the GBS news station. We got right down there to help out." Bart shivers in remembering. "The whole place was iced over. It was too hard to get a grip, and we couldn't get inside. Then something happened…I guess the cold gun ruptured the tanks or something, and the whole place blew sky-high." Bart clenches his fists. "Except Cold wasn't there. He had already gotten away. Grandma was inside." The younger speedster closes his eyes, trying to wipe the image of the burning building from his mind. "I…ran away." That was the hardest thing to admit. Not the fact that he had seen his grandmother's job explode, taking a dozen people with it, but the fact that he had run away as soon as he realized what was happening. "I just panicked and bailed and ran out to some deserted island somewhere. Tigress found me the next day and brought me back. By then, the Watchtower was mostly empty, but I didn't even notice. It was all kind of a blur. I just remember waking up in my room and looking around and not seeing any members of the League. Haven't seen any since. Not even Grandpa. A couple weeks later, I got out of the Watchtower and the world was in lockdown. Everyone traveling in other countries had been deported home, the UN was shut down, every member of the Light was dead, and the League had vanished."

Wally just sits there, trying to make his brain work even though it doesn't want to do anything at the moment except run in circles and chant _Aunt Iris is dead, Aunt Iris is dead._

Somehow, that gives his mind another direction to go in as he realizes something. "But—what about your dad? The twins?"

The sudden realization makes his stomach drop out. Aunt Iris was six months along when he—left. And if Bart's dad was dead…

Bart closes his eyes and looks down. "It was supposed to be her last day before maternity leave." He swallows hard. "Batwoman figures that with all the stuff I managed to change, I'm technically from an alternate reality now. So I'm okay. That didn't affect me."

"Batwoman? You mean Babs?"

"Yeah. She thought Batwoman was better than Batgirl. Go figure."

Wally knows that he's already caused his cousin plenty of trauma today, but he has to ask one more question. "Do you know anything about what happened to the League?"

Bart glances nervously around. "Wally, please stop asking questions about that. Batwoman hears me talking, she'll put me on mode so fast even I won't see it coming."

The last thing Wally wants to do is stop. But his cousin is giving him the big puppy-dog eyes, and he's doing that thing where his lip trembles, and it's all too cute and pathetic to say no to for long.

"All right, all right! Just…stop that, okay?"

Bart switches to a beaming, cheeky grin so fast that Wally knows he's been duped. "Crash. Now come on!"

* * *

Wally spends the next hour being shown around the Watchtower, first by Bart, and then joined by Blue Beetle, Beast Boy, and Static. Garfield is delighted to see him, hugging him again and chatterinwg and insisting on showing him the updated souvenir room (and it's honestly touching how much of the goofy stuff he's grabbed on missions that they've kept).

Blue Beetle and Bart seem very close, judging from the friendly nudges and bumps they give each other. Wally will swear that he sees them holding hands at one point, and files it away for future, key, blackmail material.

The tour is…nice, he supposes, for lack of a better word. Not much has changed, but when he looks out the window, he can see another Watchtower, much more high-tech and space-agey.

"That's the Beta Watchtower. It's where the monitor stations are. Got the whole world covered. Needed another place. This one was always…well, private," Bart explains.

"I helped build it," Virgil admits proudly. He holds out his hand and uses his powers to levitate a soda from the machine on the wall. "It was really cool."

There are near-silent footsteps behind them. Wally can only detect them because right now he's on hair-trigger nerves, and he has years of experience knowing when Bats are sneaking up on him. He turns around to see (surprise, surprise) Nightwing.

"Hey," Wally says, dully. There's a little part of his brain still running around in circles, trying to grasp the fact that _Aunt Iris is dead_, and a larger part wanting to throttle his best friend, but the majority has apparently reached the consensus that he has just woken up in a world that is _totally different and weird _and that _any_ familiar face at this point is comforting.

"Hey," Nightwing mutters in reply.

The younger kids, who have apparently developed an excellent sense of self-preservation, slip away and avoid the confrontation. Wally absently notes that Bart and Jaime go off in one direction and Gar and Virgil go off in their own separate directions.

_Oh, Bart is so getting teased about this later._

The two former friends just stand there awkwardly, neither sure of what to say. Wally wants to yell at Nightwing some more, remind him of everything he used to be, of how fundamentally wrong it is that he's doing this. But after hearing Bart's story, well…

"Why didn't you tell me about Iris?"

Nightwing looks guilty, which Wally supposes is a point in his favor. "Wally, you just got thrown two years into the future. You were freaking out enough already. Didn't seem right to dump it on you. Besides…you're the one who threw us out."

Wally doesn't even have the energy to scowl at this point.

Oh wait, yeah he does.

"Well, maybe it would have been _harder_ to throw you out if we had actually been in my room. In my apartment. On Earth. Which you conquered." _Okay, that was a really pathetic line of reasoning._

Dick lets out a groan. "Look, Wally…you've been pretty much dead for three years. I thought we'd lost you for good. Can we just…not fight for maybe five minutes?"

Wally rubs his head. "Fine."

There's a long, awkward silence between the two of them, until Wally breaks it by asking, "So, do you actually remember what we talked about? When not fighting?"

The familiar smirk crept back over Dick's face. "Well, we could discuss your insane insistence that pirates are still better than ninjas over a couple of bologna sandwiches."

"Dude, you're still serious about that?" Wally squints at his friend for a moment, causing the smirk to falter, before he busts out in a grin. "Pirates are _way_ better than ninjas! They have treasure! And fancy bandannas! And _parrots!_"

Dick's fading grin breaks out in full force, and he loops an arm over Wally's shoulders as the two of them trek down the corridor to the kitchen (It's still in the same place, and still fully stocked. Score!).

And for a few moments, Wally can forget the collar, forget that his family is gone, forget that he's been dumped into a world where nothing makes sense, and forget the dead look he could almost see lurking under his best friend's cheeky grin.

Though even with the sandwiches, and the grins, and the same dumb debate over the same stupid issue, there's still that hostile undercurrent lurking underneath.

So it's okay. It's not perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it's okay.

But he still can't shake the feeling that all this okayness is stretched thin over a whole lot of mess. And when it breaks loose (because you know it will) it's going to bring all hell with it.

So for now, okay is enough.

But he knows better to think that it will last.

* * *

**The drunken Nightwing and alternate-reality Bart are both borrowed from "We Were Once Perfect" by ClampLover. Used with permission. And go read it, it's amazing!**

**Guess who finished the next chapter! And a whole day before scheduled. Next update will be either in a week or as soon as the chapter after it is done. And I can promise that the mole will be reappearing in his role, identity still unknown, next chapter. I refuse to reveal anything at this time. A couple of his cohorts are going to show up as well. So my two questions for you are this:**

**Who do you think is a member of the Resistance? **

**And bonus question: In the comics, Cheshire had another kid, a son, with Catman. What was the kid's name? Extra karmic points if you can tell me without Googling it, though I couldn't have before today. **

**I know that there were a couple of people concerned about how much of the first chapter was from "A Better World," so I'm just going to say right now that it is not going to be a main thing in this story. The out-of place quotes in Wally and Bart's conversations are the last direct references that should be made. No promises, but I will promise not to lift entire long sections from there again. I just wanted to set the stage.**

**Review please!**

**Mailbox Time! And holy crap, 13 reviews? Thank you all so much!**

**Erik-Silver: Thank you. I'm trying to make it interesting. And as to the mole thing, all I will say is excellent guesses and points.**

**FlightfootKeyseeker: Excellent guesses as well, but I ain't sayin nothing. **

**Guest: Yeah, Wally fell into the Speed Force and got jumped into the future. But it's been established that inhibitor collars work on speedsters, at least on Earth-16. And as far as I know, TSF is pretty much unknown there. And that quote comes from 'The Great Brain Robbery.' Nice touch!**

**Chalant: Um, so far I have no pairings planned and Zatanna has yet to enter into the story in a relevant capacity. But I honestly don't think I'll be pairing anyone with Dick. He's very broken-loner in this story.**

**Xoraan: Thank you so much for your review and excellent critiques! I know, I know, lifting so much of the dialogue wholesale from "A Better World" was a lazy move. I'm not doing that anymore. Honestly, I only did it then because I really wanted to set the stage and those scenes really worked for it. Still a lazy and stupid move on my part. Sorry about that. Um, I don't think I'll be able to go into backstory with Donna and Jason too much, although I'll try to slip bits in. As for the Justice League…'taken care of' doesn't mean quite what you're thinking… And yes, there will be a showdown, although not for several chapters.**

**Eesanchez95: Thank you! Excellent guesses. As for the Batman thing, not quite, but you've given me an intriguing idea…Oh, and that is definitely true. But I honestly don't put too much stock in Darkseid. **

**Piggythelaw: It makes plenty of sense to my random brain. Yup, poor Wally. He's definitely in for it…(rubs hands together evilly…) **

**Sassbrat: Thank you! I like your stories, so I was really happy to see that you found this.**

**1****st**** female scarlet speedster: Thank you! And he's back! And excellent use of the Dick-tionary. **

**MathisMagic: Um. Okay, first THANK YOU! For writing, such an awesome story, for finding this fic, for your great comments, just…THANK YOU! And again, I apologize for how closely the first chapter followed the episode, but it worked for the stage I was trying to set. I'm glad you like the way I wrote the characters, because that's honestly what I worry about the most when I write with other characters. Heck, I worry about it when I write my own characters. The spy thing was something that jumped into my head as soon as the first chapter was finished and demanded to be written. Honestly, I liked Babs's reaction paragraph when I first wrote it, but by now I've stared at it so many times that I start to doubt the quality, so I'm glad you liked it. Thanks again for reading this!**

**Summer's Sunlight: Thank you! Again, I'm very paranoid about the way I write characters, so it's always good when people like it. Excellent guess and reasoning!**


	4. Meetings--Unnerving, Familiar, Secret

**Watchtower-Prime**

**March 17th**

**20:47 UTC**

And unfortunately, and yet all too predictably, it doesn't. The newfound peace lasts for a grand total of twenty-seven minutes (Wally times it).

He's on his fifth sandwich and reiterating his best arguments when M'gann floats into the kitchen. She's dressed in her old stealth uniform, but with a much longer cape that swishes down to her ankles and a tall hood that hides almost her entire face.

Wally grins at her. "Hey, Greench—_whoa!_"

She's pulled down her hood to reveal that her skin has gone from the green Wally remembers to a bone-pale white.

She still gives him a friendly smile, or an approximation of one, but it takes him a moment to adapt to her changed appearance and the shock of bright red eyes, like her uncle's, against alabaster skin.

_:Nobody's called me that in a while:_ she remarks.

Wally rubs his temple, where the faint buzz that accompanies telepathy has reasserted itself. "And nobody's talked in my head in a while either. What's up with the new look?"

She runs her right finger along her left hand. _:I just decided to accept my heritage, I suppose. And I don't have to be afraid anymore.:_ She steps forward and hugs Wally. _:It's so good to see you, Wally. We've missed you.:_

Wally hugs her back, happy to see one of the friendliest faces he knows. _Knew. Time travel definitely sucks._

"Good to see you too."

He lets go and frowns when he realizes she's no longer paying attention to him. She's staring intently at Nightwing, a familiar look in her eyes. Wally concentrates on the little spot in his temple that always itches when she uses telepathy and tries to break into the conversation.

_:—one of the inmates acting up again. I don't know how much longer telepathy's going—:_ She turns her head and stares directly at Wally, who's staring at the two of them with wide eyes. _:Wally, it's not nice to eavesdrop.:_

Wally swallows. Hard. Because those red eyes suddenly seem very, very frightening. _ Oh, crap._

"Sorry," he says, trying to look apologetic. "I just—I just—who are the inmates?"

They both go all stony-faced and Wally knows that he has asked the wrong question.

"You don't need to worry about that, Wally," Dick said.

"Uh, are you sure?"

Their glares convince him.

_:You must be tired, Wally. Can you find your way back to your room?:_ M'gann asks. It's not so much asking as ordering, however, so he doesn't bother arguing. He just nods, and turns around to leave the kitchen.

"Wally," Dick calls. Wally turns around to face his old friend, who gives him a pained smile. "It—it really is good to have you back," he says.

The speedster isn't sure who Dick's trying to convince—himself or Wally.

"Yeah," the redhead manages to get out. "Great."

He leaves the room and makes his way back to the hospital wing, finding his 'room' and flopping down on the bed.

_Cell sweet cell._

Apparently, jumping through time to a freaky future took even more effort than he realized. Wally's out like a light in moments.

* * *

**Watchtower-Prime**

**March 18****th**

**7:03 UTC**

Wally wakes up slowly. It takes him a couple minutes to remember that he's on the Watchtower, he's been declared dead for three years, his friends have slapped and inhibitor collar on him, and oh yeah, _Aunt Iris is dead._

_Life? Sucks._

There's a small _sproing_ and a faint, soft impact against his nose. He scrunches his eyelids and twitches in annoyance. As he does, he's dimly aware of several other small items scattered around his person.

Another _sproing _and another impact cause Wally to reach up and brush at his face. He comes away with several small oval discs.

_Wha…?_

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," an all-too-familiar voice remarks.

_Oh, noooo…_

"Babs…" he mutters, irritation and exhaustion combating in his voice. "_Why?_"

"Well, I have been assigned as your designated babysitter for the day, which I'm sure you're as happy about as I am, so I figured the best thing to do would be to sit here and let you sleep. I got bored real quick, though, and there's nothing interesting left to hack, so…"

"So, you started using a rubber band to shoot Bat-chips at me?" Wally demands, picking up one of the little things she had been flicking at him. They were small yellow ovals with miniature bat-symbols on them, about the size of a pressed penny. "Why do you even _have_ these?"

"Would you believe for these exact circumstances?"

Wally ponders both the unlikelihood of these exact circumstances and his many years of experience with Bat-paranoia.

Bat-paranoia wins.

"Yes."

Barbara Gordon smirks. "Actually, I have them for poker night with Tim."

"Where is the bird-brain?" Wally wonders. As far as he remembers, the youngest Robin actually liked him. Not as much as the first, but as much as a Bat can be reasonably expected to like someone who isn't their best friend or significant other. Or at least Tim was okay with Wally corrupting him.

Hey, in his defense, Dick helped. And the karaoke trip to Tokyo was totally the acrobat's idea. And fault.

So what if he went along with it? He had just finished a stressful final. Wasn't he owed some off time?

"Hiding somewhere in the Middle East. He kinda yelled at Dick the other day for still not being over your…um, death. That reminds me."

Before Wally could protest or react, Babs reached over and smacked him.

"And _that's_ for making us all miserable for three years!" Batwoman snapped. "What the _hell_ did you think you were doing?"

"What? Don't I get any credit for saving the world?"

"Not when you're so cheeky about it."

"Cheeky?" Wally gasps. "You wound me."

"Shut up and eat your breakfast."

"Breakfast?" That one word has the power to immediately gain his attention and set him to looking around. "Where?"

She moves her legs, which are propped up on his bed, and shoves a tray at him piled with food. "Knock yourself out. Please. It'll make my job less work."

He rolls his eyes in response, his quick comeback smothered by the pancake already stuffed in his mouth.

There's a beeping noise and Babs pulls up her holo-computer and curses, her annoyed eyes hidden by her new cowl that resembles Batman's a lot more than the old one did. This one completely hides her hair and covers a lot more of her face, only exposing her lips and chin. It's still a bit more feminine, thankfully, so Wally doesn't feel too much like he's being glared at by Bruce.

Wally ponders whether or not attempting to get answers out of the woman would be worth it. So far, he's only managed to get information out of Bart and Jason, and even that was limited. Given the cold responses of Miss M, Nightwing, and Conner, plus Bart mentioning Batwoman putting him on-mode…

_Yeah, maybe not worth it. Although…_

He takes a moment to chew a piece of bacon and quickly mentally reckon up any and all blackmail material he has ever had on Babs, and estimate how much of it will still be valid.

_Actually, totally worth it._

"So, what's on the computer?"

She doesn't even look up. "It's all about this fascinating place called None of Your Business."

"Awwww, come on? For me?" he asks, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

Babs looks up and he has a feeling she's raising her eyebrows. "You are not nearly as adorable as you think you are."

Wally pouts. _Of course I am._ "Come on, you can tell me!"

She collapses the holo-screen and shrugs. "Nothing important. Just an alert in Sector 24. One of the Team can handle it."

"Two questions: what's Sector 24, and who's still on the Team?"

"Static, Blue Beetle, Impulse, Beast Boy, and Wonder Girl are still on the Team. Red Robin's acting leader." At Wally's quizzical look, she explains, "Tim wanted a new name. Sector 24 is Central City."

A thought hits Wally with the force of a train. "Is…" he swallows hard and tries again. "Is my aunt…down there?"

Babs gives him a look, and he's grateful that the cowl completely covers her eyes, or he knows they would be full of pity.

"Yes."

"Can I…" his voice is cracking again. He hates that. "Can I see her?"

She's definitely giving him a pitying look now but he doesn't care. He has to go see the grave. He doesn't know why, but he knows, more surely than he has ever known anything in his life, that he has to see his Aunt one last time.

"Wally…"

"Babs," he says, managing to get some control over his voice. "Please."

She lets out a sigh. "I'll see what I can do."

Wally gives her a faint grin. "You're the best, Babs."

"I know."

He rolls his eyes and returns to his breakfast as she calls up her holo-computer again and starts messing with some files.

* * *

**Central City**

**March 18****th**

**2:10 CDT**

The member of the Team assigned to deal with the crisis slips out of the Zeta tube and along the shadow of the wall. When he first joined the Team, he hadn't been very stealthy, because he hadn't needed to be.

Now? Let's just say that spending two years in a deep-cover mission forces a person to become very good at stealth, very fast.

There's a soft _twang_ that he just barely hears, and a moment later, a buzz of static comes from his comm signaling that it's no longer transmitting as the EMP emitter fired into the wall near him kicks in. It won't be long before Batwoman detects it and forces a reboot, which means that this will have to be fast.

"We clear?"

The voice comes from his left. The teen nods as a soft _thud_ heralds his contact landing on the floor of the alleyway.

"Clear."

A second shadow peels silently away from the wall to join the first, her sai at the ready. Her graceful posture is not in the least hindered by the baby in the carrier on her back.

"Nice distraction. Get anything for your troubles?" the teen asks. He knew that it was the two of them as soon as the alarm went off at the museum, which is why he'd offered to go. He's been expecting something like this ever since he made his transmission.

The woman's smirk is hidden by her catlike mask. "A few nice things. And at least it was an interesting date."

"Back on subject." The man's voice is harsh and businesslike. "What's the status on Wally?"

"It's definitely him. They've got him in an inhibitor collar and on lockdown on the Tower." The spy shakes his head. "I still can't believe it's him. All the stories, all…this…" he gestures at the world in a general expression to try and convey what he means. "I guess I thought he's be…I don't know, taller."

"He won't be too happy about the lockdown," the man muses. "He was always hard to hang onto. How are the others taking it?"

"About that…" the woman says calmly, her tone suggesting new information. "I was approached by my sister yesterday."

"What?" The shocked exclamations of the other two are voiced in tight, angry, whispers. Even when it seems like their plans are coming down, stealth and secrecy are absolutely crucial.

"Cheshire, are you _insane_? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Relax, Red," the woman replies, twirling her dagger. "She has no idea what we're doing. All she knows is that I'm part of the Outsiders. She left a message in our old apartment. It's how we used to stay in contact." Her eyes shifted up to look at the man from behind her mask. "She wants in."

This time, there are no distressed interjections. They're too surprised for that. The eyeslits of the man's domino mask narrow. "Why were you at your old apartment?"

"Looking for a message, of course. And give me some credit. I checked the place out before I went in. Just figured that with her boyfriend coming back with all his cute little ideals still in place, she'd be rather…shaken." The smirk is so wide that the spy is surprised the mask is still hiding it. "She is."

"What did you do?" The tall man is clearly somewhere between frantic and furious.

His wife's eyes are rolling. "Left a reply asking if she thought I was really that stupid and headed back to one of my personal hideouts that I was ready to torch anyways. Took the secret exit out and collapsed it behind me. Do you really think I would endanger all the Outsiders—you—our _children_ like that?"

The man looks duly chagrined. "No. Sorry." Before he can say anything else, the teen coughs, reminding them of the tight deadline that they're on. The man turns back to their spy, suddenly all business.

"Right. Keep an eye on Wally. Find out if he's going down to the surface anytime soon and where. Try to get yourself assigned to escort him when it happens."

"Time check, Red!" Cheshire says, holding up an electric lightstick that suddenly turns on, signaling that the EMP was wearing off.

"You go. I'll meet you at the end of the block. You can be backup for me to make it look good."'

She lifts her mask to plant a quick kiss on his lips before sliding it back into place and glaring at the teen. "_Don't_ hurt him."

The rather intimidated double agent nods and watches as she blends into the shadows and vanishes among them, taking her young son with her.

The streetlight flickers on above the teen's head as another burst of static comes from his comm.

"_What's your status?"_ Barbara's voice echoes down from the Watchtower.

"Target located. It's a member of the Resistance. Pursuing now." He just barely manages to dodge an arrow aimed at his head and softly swears. That had been almost a little too close for comfort. "It's Red Arrow."

"_Do you need backup_?"

"Negative. It looks like it's just him. I should be able to—_whoa!_" A sai flies directly past his head. "Cheshire's here! Ignore what I just said, is there anyone available?"

"_Beetle's on call. I'll try to get to him._"

"Well, tell him to get his blue butt down here to help me out!" That part's more for the benefit of his contacts. They need to know who's coming.

There's a faint whistling sound and a red-fletched arrow lands at his feet. It instantly expands, covering him with a red high-density polyurethane foam that holds him in place._ Nice touch_.

"Tell Blue to bring that stuff that dissolves foam. I'm stuck. They're getting away!" He sounds angry, hopefully angry enough to make it convincing.

"_Can you get yourself out of it?_"

"If I could, I wouldn't have asked for the dissolvent."

"_Right. ETA is two minutes. We're leaving the police out of it. No telling how many of them have family or are in the Resistance themselves."_

He doesn't flinch. He's gotten much too good at lying and acting as a double agent to be so weak as to betray himself like that. "Good point. I'll be here. Got nowhere else to go."

_I really don't._

Down the street, the three members of the Outsiders, one too young to even open his eyes as his mother carries him from rooftop to rooftop, vanish into the night.

* * *

**Da da DAAAAA…! At this point, I'm no longer sure of the quality of this chapter, since I've been rereading and rereading it and I'm starting to think it's terrible. I still like Babs, though. **

**Miss Martian's changed appearance comes from one of the storylines in the comics where she turned temporarily evil. I think it was _One Year Later? _Anyone who knows, could you confirm/deny this for me?**

**The resistance is called the Outsiders because reasons. I'm not familiar with the comic Outsiders, so don't expect too many cameos. I just liked the name.**

**A lot of people have been guessing at the identity of the mole, and it'll probably be obvious, but I'm still not revealing the name. Having Cheshire and Roy in here was fun, though. Their son's name is Paul, for anyone interested.**

**As to the next update…I have not written the next chapter yet. I'll try to get it written and up in a week, but I can't promise anything. Sorry!**

**Mailbox time!**

**FlightfootKeyseeker: Still not saying anything, but logical reasoning.**

**Couriosity: Thanks!**

**Ally Marton: Okay, for the sake of my decency, I'm going to pretend that I didn't go all fangirly when I saw your review. *****Looks around***** *****Muffled shriek of excitement*****. But seriously, thank you! And again, I ain't saying nothing. But I do love both Bart and Virgil. Though I just wish they could have brought Gear into the show somehow…And now you've made me slightly nervous because I know you'll be watching…**

**1****st**** female scarlet speedster: Thank you! I hope this update keeps you alive, and continues providing twists and turns. **

**Piggythelaw: Well…I **_**could**_** say no…but then I would be providing false hope or ruining the plot…And thanks!**

**Guest: Of course you did.**

**MathisMagic: Thanks! And excellent work with your last chapter. I think I get what you mean, and I hope you like this one as well…**


	5. Insiders and Outsiders

**Watchtower-Prime**

**March 18****th**

**9:54 UTC**

Wally's bored.

It takes a surprisingly short time, even (or perhaps especially) for a speedster, to get bored with a high-tech satellite in stationary orbit above Earth.

Having Barbara around doesn't really help much either. She's been on her wrist computer ever since she let him out of his room.

_Hmmmm…_

She's still on her wrist computer, so Wally surreptitiously slips over to the edge of the room. Taking a quick glance back, he can see that she's still deeply embroiled in her hacking of whatever-it-is, with that little crease she gets between her forehead when she's deeply focused that's somehow visible through the cowl.

_Yeah, I don't think she'll notice…not yet, anyway…_

"Hey, B! Bathrooms still in the same place?"

She makes a sort of "Hmm" noise that could mean either "Yes" or "You're interrupting my very important hacking and I will maim you if you do so again." Either way, it's a good excuse for Wally to sneak off.

Bart is still in his favorite place (the kitchen) looking a little sad as he stares intently at a blue mug. From the absence of a certain alien-parasite-powered superhero, Wally will guess that his cousin has nothing to do as well.

"Hey, cuz! Whatcha doin?"

Bart looks up, and there's surprise on his face. "Wally? What…"

"C'mon, before my baby-sitter notices I'm gone." The older speedster grabs his cousin and hauls him out of the kitchen. "My folks are alive, right?"

"Yeah, but…hey!" Even before the experiment that gave him his speed, Wally was never a slow mover. He's managed to drag the time traveler out to the main room where the Zeta tubes are before he can protest.

"And you know where they are right?" Wally moves over to the tubes and starts tapping at the keypad. He doesn't have the authorization code, but if he can guess Babs's…

_Wooby. Of course._ He smirks as he gets it right on the third try. _Thank god for Bats making stuffed animals their passwords._

"Um, yeah…wait, what? How are you doing that?"

"Expert password-guesser." Wally wiggles his fingers. "C'mon, c'mon, where are they?"

"_Recognized: Static; B-two-six."_

A dark-skinned teen rubbing a round bruise on his cheek stalks out of the tubes, muttering under his breath. "Stupid archer. Stupid arrows. Who the heck makes a boxing glove arrow anyway?" The kid stops in front of them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, Bart here promised to take me to see my folks," Wally says, looking at him innocently and slinging one arm around the young speedster's shoulders. "But, sadly, he's forgotten the code. Do you remember what it is?"

"Hey, I didn't—"

The redhead elbows Bart before he can finish the sentence. Static just looks mildly worried. "You have permission, right?"

"Oh, sure," Wally says breezily. "Would we be here right now if we didn't? I mean, it's not like we could do this without Batwoman's code."

Static shrugs. "As far as I know, your folks are with the other family members in the old Hall of Justice. Code's the same as it used to be. Say hi to my sister for me, will you? Tell her I have that DVD she wanted and that I'll drop it off as soon as I can get there. Gotta check in at the med-bay." He waves, and heads off down the hall.

"Nice kid," Wally says cheerfully. He taps in the Washington DC code and steps into the Zeta tubes, bringing a stunned Bart with him.

* * *

Static watches the two speedsters vanish, before strolling casually to his quarters. As soon as the door closes and locks behind him, he lies down on his bed and pulls the covers over his head before electromagnetically activating his comm.

"He's busted out of the Watchtower and headed for the Hall of Justice," he whispers, hoping that someone's on the other line.

"_What?"_ It's Roy—Arsenal.

"That's what I said. Ed there?" He says the name casually, ignoring the way his heart speeds up.

"_Yeah, yeah. One sec. You know, if you want to get fast results, you might try not calling at four in the morning."_

It takes about a minute for Eduardo, also known as El Dorado and leader of the Runaways in Virgil's absence, to come on the comm. It's about a minute too long for the anxious spy.

"_Hey_, gran líder_. What's up?"_

Virgil pretends to himself that he doesn't get a shiver down his spine at Ed's voice or the way he just casually tucks Spanish words into his everyday speech. "Target's at the Hall of Justice. I need you to intercept and give him the rendezvous coordinates."

"_Are you _loco_? There's no way I'll be able to pull that off."_

The teen also decides to ignore the sudden ache he gets in his stomach at the irritation and doubt in Ed's voice. "Not if we time this right. There are always Zeta beams going in and out of the hall. Just pop in, give Wally the instructions, and pop out again. Do it quick enough and with an EMP emitter, and they'll just think it's background interference. He's probably there right now."

"_You're crazy, you know that? You're asking me to break into the most highly secure facility on the _planet,_ just to deliver an _aviso_? _"

Virgil holds back a groan. His friend sounds mad. He didn't want that to happen. "Will you do it, please? I know you can."

There's a pause. "_Okay. You're the _jefe._ But you're still _demente."

This time Static does sigh. "I know. I'm sorry. My sis should help you. I gave Wally the code to pass on. She'll know you're coming. Good luck."

"_Same to you._" With that, the comm cuts off.

Virgil turns over and tries to go to sleep, despite the hundreds of thousands of thoughts buzzing in his head. Two years of waiting, and now things are happening with remarkable—and terrifying—speed.

He just hopes they'll be able to keep up.

Because if they can't, they're dead.

Every last one of them.

* * *

**Outsider's Base**

**March 18****th**

**3:58 EDT**

Ed turns off the comm and sighs, pulling his goggles down over his eyes. They're yellow and black, to match the rest of his costume. He and the others have protested multiple times that the costumes are stupid and pointless. There aren't any other people with powers like theirs, after all, especially those who would be fighting the Lords. They've been seen before. ID'ing them would be only too easy for the former Team.

At least they don't have to wear capes. And the costumes aren't too different from what they used to wear. He's stuck in black cargo pants and a dark gray shirt under an armored yellow vest with camo stealth tech built in to darken it if he needs to.

The goggles do help, though. They keep his eyes from itching every time he teleports, which is, admittedly, nice. And he gets to keep his scarf.

There aren't any footsteps behind him to indicate Tye and Asami sneaking up on him, which is why when Tye taps the Hispanic teen on the shoulder he jumps out of his skin and teleports ten feet up in the air only to fall.

"Ooooohh…" he groans from his spot on the floor. Sam sticks out a hand to help him to his feet.

"Okay?" she asks. She's no longer speaking Japanese all the time, but her English still needs work. Her Jicarilla, however, is flawless, according to Tye. Ed's gonna have to take him at his word for it. He still can't understand the strange Apache dialect.

"Yeah. You just _espantar_ me, is all," he says, rubbing his head. "I oughta put a bell on you two."

Sam grins at him, but Tye just scowls.

Sam's dressed in her costume—black leggings with a green stripe down the sides and a dark green Kevlar vest over a black shirt. The black ninja hood attached to her shirt is pulled down, revealing different-colored eyes that are filled with amusement, but tinged with sadness. Her green headband is pulled further up onto her head, even though she doesn't need it with her black hair cut short. She gestures at his clothing and asks, "You leaving?"

He nods, checking his belt to make sure the device that hides his signature whenever he teleports is working. It is, and so is the EMP emitter he got as a gift from Virgil. The fact that it was a completely practical equipment issue doesn't detract from the fact that he's attached to it. It's one of the only things he has from his friend.

Sam puts a hand on his arm as she catches him fiddling with the device more than is strictly necessary. "_Anata ga hontōni kare ga suki, anata ga inai nodesu ka__?_"

Ed just stares at her. "Sam, I have no idea what you just said."

She thinks for a minute, then points at Virgil's dot that shows he's deployed on the tracking system, and says, "You like him."

"Well, I—" Ed's honestly not sure what to say. "I—of course I like him, he's my friend!"

Sam shakes her head, then points from Tye to her and the screen to Ed. "I like Tye. You like him."

"Dude, seriously?" Tye asks, looking between them. He's dressed in an orange Kevlar jacket with the same stealth tech Ed has over a black shirt and black pants. His old headband has been traded out for a wide piece of fabric with eye slits that can be folded down to cover the upper half of his face. When folded up like it is now, though, it just looks like the headband. Ed sighs inwardly as he looks between the two of them. Orange and green…what a fashion disaster. He's told them so before, but they won't listen to him.

Ed scowls at both of them and turns away. "Doesn't matter. It's none of your business, anyway."

"Does he know?" Tye asks.

Ed spins to glare as fiercely as he can. "Tell him and you're dead."

"I'll take that as a no."

"You better. I'm off. Make sure Nathaniel's ready. If we're gonna pull this off, we need him in top form. _Adios._" He teleports away to avoid any further uncomfortable discussion.

Tye moves over to the computer and starts tapping before scowling at the screen. "Red Arrow and Cheshire got sidetracked by Blue."

Asami winces and places one hand on his arm. "Sorry," she says quietly.

"Not your fault," he says harshly. "Not even the Reach's fault this time. This is all Jaime."

"What's all Jaime?" There's a yawn as Milagro pads into the room, rubbing her eyes. Lian's drifting along behind her in a glowing green crib that's the product of the Hispanic girl's ring. As one of the youngest members of the Outsiders, and one of the best with kids, she's typically stuck with babysitting duties whenever Cheshire and Red Arrow are assigned to the same mission.

Tye can't fight down the small smile that comes up when he sees her. There are too many good memories associated with going over to his Jaime's house and hanging out with his little sister to be mad at her. "Hey, Mila. Just talking about your brother again."

The young Green Lantern looks caught somewhere between a sad expression and a scowl. "Of course. My idiot _hermano_ who had to go and conquer the Earth 'for the greater good.'" She self-consciously rubs her ring. It had been the only good thing to come out of that whole mess. "What did he do this time?"

"Nearly got us caught," a clipped voice from the door announces. Red Arrow limps in, supported by Cheshire. He's got a significant welt on his head and several dozen splinters and a burn mark on his left arm. He looks angry. "And busted my bow as well." His wife sets him down and sends Asami for the medical kit before checking on Lian and settling Paul in with her.

"Thanks for looking after her," the Vietnamese woman tells Milagro. She takes the medical kit from the returning Asami and sets to work tending Will's arm. After the original Roy Harper and his clone had realized they were going to be spending a lot of time together, they had come to an agreement regarding names. Red Arrow would continue to use his moniker and take up William Roy Harper as a civilian identity (not that any of them really have those anymore) and Roy William Harper would continue to go by Arsenal and Roy, respectively.

"Ow! Stupid fucking son of a—"

"Watch it, _Speedy._ Insult Jaime as much as you want, but leave my mother out of it." The fifteen-year-old crosses her arms and glares at the clone.

"Sorry, Mila."

"Don't be," Tye says harshly. "Whatever you call him, he deserves it." The angry Apache turns back to the computer and starts typing furiously. Asami gently places a hand on his shoulder in a silent gesture of comfort. The confrontation two years ago had been especially painful for Tye, as well. Harsh words had been exchanged on both sides.

Milagro winces, remembering the day that Static was sent undercover. It was kind of hard to forget, since it was also the day she gained her ring…and lost her brother.

Not exactly a fair trade.

* * *

_**Two years ago**_

_**Ten miles outside El Paso**_

_**October 14**__**th**__**, 2016**_

_**18:42 CDT**_

_It was a warm evening—not quite hot, but close enough. The heat was fading quickly in the oncoming desert night. Milagro had snuck out of the house (again), avoided patrols (again) and made her way out to the meeting point (again). _

_This time, however, she wasn't planning on going back. She had a duffle bag slung over her back with several changes of clothes and all the personal items she could trust to not be bugged. She had left a letter for her parents, not wanting to risk them stopping her. Not saying goodbye had hurt, but she had to move now. There had been talk of moving them to the Hall of Justice 'for their own safety.'_

_Yeah, right._

_It had taken the thirteen-year-old some time to work her way out to the grove of trees on the very edge of her hometown, especially given how many soldiers were patrolling. _

_Ed was waiting there when she reached it, his scarf flapping in the dry, warm wind. "_Hola. _You ready?" he asked._

_Milagro gripped the strap tighter and nodded, willing herself not to turn around. She couldn't help the prickles that sprung up in her eyes, so she turned her face away, not wanting to reveal her weakness._

_There was a gentle hand on her arm. "Hey," Ed said. "It's okay_. Sé que es difícil salir de casa_."_

_Milagro shook her head. "It doesn't matter. 'S not home without Jaime, and he isn't himself anymore." A scowl crept across her face. "It's worse than when the Reach had him _lavado el cerebro_. Then he had an excuse. This is just him being an idiot."_

_Ed let out a short bark of harsh laughter. "The whole Team is being _idotas._ That's why we're doing this. Hang on." He held out his hand, and she grabbed on as they vanished._

_Teleporting wasn't exactly the most comfortable method of transportation. It felt like her stomach was crawling its way out of her throat, and she got an almost unbearable itching behind her eyes. As soon as they reappeared on a deserted mesa, she reached up to scrub furiously at them. _

"Picazón en los ojos_, _¿no?" _he asked her. When she nodded, he shrugged. "You get used to it. C'mon. We need to…" he trailed off, staring at the sky. "Oh, _cagada._"_

_Mila knew a bad word when she heard one, even if she wasn't supposed to. She spun around to stare up at the sky where her brother, fully armored up, was descending._

"Cagada,_" she agreed. _

"_What are you doing?" he yelled at her, the words strangely muffled by his helmet. He was so focused on her that he didn't seem to notice Ed hissing into his own comm._

"_No, what are _you_ doing?" Milagro demanded of her brother. "You're going _demente_ and taking over the world. This is exactly what the Reach wanted you to do, and now you're just going to roll over and take it?"_

_The blue faceplate retracted to reveal Jaime's angry face. "You don't understand. We're trying to make the world a better place."_

"_Oh, _sí,_ because _that's_ working so well." Her voice was heavy with irony. "Quit kidding yourself." She started to get angry. "Why are you here?"_

"_To pick someone up. I'll just have to take you as well. You know you aren't supposed to be out, _hermanita_, so—"_

"_No!" she yelled at him. "You don't get to call me that. Not anymore. And I'm done. I'm not going back with you, Jaime. I won't stand by and let you do this."_

_He looked even angrier, and the faceplate slid back over his costume. "I wasn't asking."_

_Before he could attack her, a huge golden hand came out of nowhere and scooped him up before throwing the beetle up into the sky. Ed let out a whoop from next to her. _

"_Yes! Go, Tye!"_

_Tye's Longshadow projection stood there, over fifty feet tall. Asami, wearing her Samurai costume, was perched on his shoulder. She pointed at the sky and shouted something in Japanese. _

"_What?" all three of them asked._

_She didn't have time to answer. Her eyes went wide from behind her cowl and she leapt free of Tye's shoulder as a sonic blast came out of nowhere and knocked him down. The astral projection disintegrated under the force of the blast, leaving Tye on the ground. The Apache teen groaned and climbed to his feet as Sam jumped down and helped him over to the foot of the mesa._

_Tye glared up at his friend. "How could you do this?" He demanded. "What, was being the Reach's little blue puppet so much fun that you had to do it for the Team as well? Do even think for yourself anymore?"_

_Mila winced. She had a feeling that if she could see her brother's face right now, there would be a very ugly look on it. _

"_Yeah. I guess you would say that. But you know what? I'm still stronger than you. I've always been stronger than you. You're weak, Tye. You've always been weak, you always will be weak. You can't do anything right. It takes you years to get the guts to stand up to Maurice, and when you finally do, you get nabbed, and I have to rescue you. You're pathetic."_

_Milagro covered her mouth in shock as something inside her snapped. That wasn't Jaime—not anymore. He wouldn't say things like that—words designed to cut and wound._

_Tye froze, looking stunned, before letting out a primal yell and summoning his avatar again. Blue readied his cannon, but this time, he didn't get the chance._

_A wave of crackling electricity lashed out and wrapped around the knees of the projection, causing it to fall forward. More electric waves crackled and rushed over the body, targeting the small form inside. Tye let out a scream as they wrapped around him, shocking him into unconsciousness._

_Asami screamed something in Japanese that was no doubt extremely rude at Static, who was riding on a smooth metal disc over the dry, sun-baked earth._

"_What took you so long?" Blue shouted at him._

"_Sorry, got sidetracked. What are you guys _doing?_" he demanded, turning to face them. "Don't you get it? We can finally use our powers in a way to make a difference. Why bother living up to the old legacy that never worked anyway when we can forge a whole new legacy, just for ourselves? We can be the most powerful people on Earth."_

"_Vaya __al diablo__!" Milagro yelled at him. She knew what he was doing, of course, but that didn't mean she couldn't make this convincing._

"_Take Mila back. I'll get the others," Blue called down. He zoomed low at Asami, only to be knocked aside by her powerful chi blasts._

_Virgil raced up the side of the mesa to her, but before he could get there, Ed grabbed her hand and teleported down to Sam and Tye. _

"_You better get going. That won't keep him down for long. I called in reinforcements, but it'll take a while."_

_Sam nodded at his words and picked up Tye, leaping away across the desert. Ed took Mila's arm again and they kept teleporting, getting further and further with each jump._

_By the tenth jump, he was breathing hard. By the sixteenth, he was openly panting, and by the twenty-third, he looked to be on the verge of collapse._

_He managed to make one more teleport before they landed hard on the desert ground and he collapsed, groaning._

"_No!" Mila whispered. "No, no, no!" This had not been part of the plan._

_She checked his pulse. It was steady—he would be fine—but he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. _

"_No! Please!" she said, looking up at the darkening sky. "Somebody, anybody, HELP!" _

_If Static found them, he'd have to drag them back or risk blowing his cover. If her bro—if Blue Beetle found them, he'd just drag them back anyway. Either way, she'd be locked up for good._

"Maldito!"_ she swore, pounding her knee. "Dammit!"_

_She sat there for a moment, making a decision._

I don't care what happens. I don't care if they have to drag me back kicking and screaming. I will not stop fighting—I will never stop fighting. I will never give up, never give in, never forget. I will take my home back, and nothing and no one will stand in my way.

_As she thought these words, she felt something irrevocable settling inside her. Her resolve firmed. _I will always keep fighting. I will not be stopped.

_Just as the last syllables of that vow were echoing thorugh her thoughts, she heard a _whoosh_ overhead. She looked up at the darkening sky with a sense of anger, ready to take on whatever supoerhero had come to drag her back with her bare hands._

_But there was nothing. Just a green streak coming towards her._

_Milagro's eyes opened wider than ever before as the green light zoomed closer and closer to her, eventually stopping to hover directly in front of her face. Instinctively, she held out her hand and the green object dropped into her palm. The light died and she could see, quite clearly, a ring._

No. Flipping. Way.

"Milagro Reyes of Earth." _An ethereal voice spoke the words, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "_You have been chosen, because of your strong will and fearless nature, to wield the power of the Green Lanterns."

_Milagro stared at it for at least an entire minute, trying to wrap her head around the concept. Finally, it sank in—she would never be weak or powerless against the tyrants conquering her world again. Now, she could fight. Now, she could take her world back._

_It was that realization that allowed her to croak out, through a throat made thick with shock, "I—I accept."_

* * *

**My mentality as soon as I started writing this chapter: I'm gonna have more Wally!**

**My secondary plot bunny and motivation: Pbbth, yeah no.**

**And then I got to Milagro and things kind of exploded out of control…**

**Okay, so I've finally admitted that Static is the spy, mostly because I really wanted to bring in the rest of the Outsiders.**

**I knew as soon as I started this thing that the Runaways would be appearing in the resistance. It's part of the reason why I made Static the spy. Double bonus karmic points if you can guess the other two reasons. Hint: It has to do with his mentor and the name of the resistance movement, and one of the side effects of his powers…**

**But yeah, they're FINALLY here and I'm so excited because I really like them and writing them and all that they entail!**

**Okay, notes:**

**Jicarilla is an Apache dialect spoken mainly in northern New Mexico. I thought it made sense for Tye to know it.**

**I ship Virgil and Ed after watching the Runaways and noticing how touchy-feely Virgil was with him. I could be reading too much into it but hey, fanfiction. Plus I like the idea. They may or may not be a thing in this story. I really don't know yet. I suck at writing relationships, so any feedback at all on them would be appreciated.  
**

**Asami might be OOC. I struggle with writing her. Sorta channeling Cass Cain here, with the whole not-talking much thing.**

**Milagro actually is Jaime's little sister in the comics. She isn't a Green Lantern yet (as far as I know) but I'm writing her as one because she's amazing and wants to be one. I haven't read any comics with her in them, so I'm basing my portrayal off of Mako1's "Titans of Tomorrow." **

**RA is Will now. Just sayin'. I figured that he'd need a new name, and I hate having two characters with the same name. It makes it too hard to write clearly.**

**The next chapter **_**should**_** involve more Wally. (I say should b/c I haven't finished it. This chapter was supposed to contain Wally and look how that turned out.)**

**Translations:**

**Spanish**

**Gran líder: Great leader**

**Loco: crazy**

**Aviso: message**

**Jefe: boss**

**Demente: Insane**

**Espantar: Startle**

**Hermano: Brother**

**Sé**** que ****es difícil****salir de casa: I know leaving home is hard.**

**Lavado el cerebro: brainwashed**

**Picazón en los ojos**_**, **_**¿no?: Itchy eyes, right?**

**Cagada: Crap**

**Hermanita: Sister**

**Vaya al díablo: Go to hell/the devil.**

**Maldito: Dammit, fuck, a bad word in general.**

**Japanese**

**Anata ga hontōni kare ga suki, anata ga inai nodesu ka**_**?: **_**You really like him, don't you? (It translates weird, so my sincere apologies to any readers who speak Japanese. I don't, so I used Google.)**

**Mailbox time! **

**Piggythelaw: Every time I see the name Aunt Iris I want to give an evil cackle because I'm the only who knows what's going to happen…Here's more Cheshire and Will. (Yay for headcanons!)**

**MathisMagic: Thank you! And they're sort of the de facto leaders. There's a couple people above them (no spoilers). And yeah, Red Arrow is definitely the rebel figure, even in the show. It's just his character. The baby was fun to write. I feel like the two of them could have a very good, lasting relationship, and still do in this.**

**Ally Marton: Thanks! And yeah. The fact that he then voices Bart is just too adorable for words. And nice bet.**

**1****st**** female scarlet speedster: Well, this world is cruel because I want it to be. (Muahahahahahahaha….) And this update is on Friday, as it is meant to be. *****Blushes furiously at the rest of the review*******

**Guest 1: Wha…? As far as I know, Dick bears no resemblance to communist Russian dictators. **

**Guest 2: Thank you!**

**Xoraan: Yes…suspicious…veerrry suspicious…(rubs hands together evilly and cackles) Mmmm. I'll try to bring Donna in next chapter. You can see where the issues with the League is going? Good for you, because I have no idea. Yeah, it's their second child. I hope that having some of the other characters showing up helped.**

**Avatar Percy of the Watertribe: Thanks! I'm glad.**


	6. Reunions and Ambushes

**Hall of Justice**

**March 18****th**

**4:02 EDT**

_"Recognized: Kid Flash; B-zero-three. Impulse; B-two-four."_

Wally feels the familiar tingle behind his eyes that always signals Zeta beam teleports and blinks rapidly a couple of times to clear it. Once the moment of disorientation has passed, he finds himself standing in a familiar room. It looks like the Hall of Justice was rebuilt exactly the way it used to be, causing a slew of memories to come crashing back.

"_First time at the Hall…I'm a little overwhelmed."_

_"You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed, why isn't anybody ever just whelmed?" A pause. "Oh. Maybe that's why."_

_"Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash…welcome."_

The speedster smiles fondly at the memory, but the smile fades when he realizes where he's standing, as well as what happened the last time he was here.

_"What. Happened."_

_"It was necessary."_

_"DICK, he blew up the CAVE! You guys almost died!"_

He takes another step into the library, more bad memories surfacing.

_"Why take that risk? Why go to such extremes?"_

_Guess I should have seen this coming then,_ he thinks bitterly. _"Worth sacrificing". What else was worth sacrificing?_

Wally feels his heart clench as he remembers exactly why he was so mad.

_"I'm worried about Artemis. Terrified for her!"_

He sinks down in a chair and covers his face. Bart is immediately next to him, worrying, demanding answers in frantic speedtalk. He's not really listening.

_Artemis…_

Wally was going to propose. He had the ring picked out and everything. He had even asked Paula and Oliver for permission, since they were basically her parents.

He had promised himself that as soon as the Invasion was over, the _instant_ the world was out of danger and she could hang up her cowl for good, he would get down on one knee and ask.

The ring's probably still in his costume, actually…

Now, though…

_Why is she still Tigress?_

He doesn't realize that he's said this aloud. He's staring at the wall, trying to make his mind, which can work through complex equations and solve chemistry problems at the speed of light, wrap around this one question.

"She said that Artemis…was your partner," Bart says softly.

That simple statement hits him like a train wreck.

_Artemis…was my partner…_

_Oh, god._

_It's my fault. _

_It's all my fault._

_I was too slow. Too stupid. Too reckless. If I hadn't…if I hadn't been sucked in…if I had just been a little faster…I could have stayed. Stopped any of this from happening. _

_This is all my fault._

"It's all my fault," he says aloud, softly and full of despair.

"Wally—Wally, _no,_" Bart pleads, trying desperately to talk sense into his cousin. "You'vegotitallwrongyoudidn'tdoanythingwrongit'snotyourfaultthere'snothingtobe sorryforyousavedtheworld—" unconsciously slipping into speedtalk, he doesn't notice the soft footfalls behind him, or the _clink-crash-clink_ of a breaking mug.

"Wally?" a voice whispers. "Is—is it really…?"

Wally jerks his head up, and it takes him a moment to for his mind to wrap around the concept of the person standing there.

"Mom?"

Mary West is dressed in her old pink bathrobe, hands to her mouth. A shattered mug and puddle of tea lie at her feet.

"Wally…"

The red-head is up out of his seat in moments and wrapping his mother in an enormous bear hug before she's realized what's happened.

There's an enormous, shuddering gasp before he's caught up in an embrace that's just as tight, small arms squeezing into his back hard enough to pop. Mary is crying and choking out unintelligible words that make Wally want to cry and hug her even tighter.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he whispers, resting his chin on her head. When did she get so _small?_ "I'm so, so, sorry."

She shakes her head, holding him even tighter. "It's you," she manages to whisper clearly. "It's really you."

"Yeah," he mutters, caught a bit off-guard by the hugging. As far as he's concerned, it's been about three months since the last time he's seen her. Finals were hell, and he didn't get a chance to go home before…the North Pole. So, for her, it's been three years, and she thought he was dead…

He hugs her even tighter, whispering "I'm sorry" again.

Neither of the Wests notice Bart shifting awkwardly in the corner.

Eventually, Mary pulls away from her son and studies him at arm's length. "You haven't aged a day," she whispers, letting her eyes roam over his face. "What…?"

He lets out a weak chuckle. "Let me just say that time travel sucks _ass._"

"Language," she scolded him, before wrapping him in another hug. "I can't believe you're here."

"Me neither."

After she's satisfied herself that he's not going to vanish, she finally pulls away. A smile is tugging at her lips. "Your father's not going to believe this."

"How is he? How are you? Have things been…okay for you?" As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he wants to snatch them back. Of course they haven't been okay. They thought their only son was dead.

Mary purses her lips. "It was…rough, at first. Artemis was wonderful. She came to see us every week. She still stops by when she can, but after a while…it was just too hard for her. They never stopped looking for you."

"Well, why are you…here?" he gestures around the Hall's library, then stares at her with wide eyes. "Please don't tell me that the house burned down."

Mary gave a small laugh, but it was more relief than humor. "For our own protection, more than anything else. Come on. Rudy's still in bed, but I'll try and rouse him."

"For your own protection? Did someone try to…oh." _Aunt Iris._ Swallowing, and deciding that it's a line of conversation he'd rather not pursue, Wally follows after his mother as she heads down the hallway.

They reach a set of metal doors, and Mary taps a code into them. A red light lances out from a camera mounted above the doors and scans her.

_"Mary West; F-zero-three. Authorized._"

The light moves to Wally and runs over him as well. He can feel the tingle in his bones, just a bit less than the Zeta-beams, but still there.

_"Kid Flash; B-zero-three. Unauthorized. Access denied."_

"Oh, Wally, I'm sorry," Mary says. "I completely forgot—they don't let anyone in who hasn't been authorized. Only the senior members can grant access."

Wally shrugs, pretending he isn't disappointed. "It's fine. I'll just wait out here for you and Dad."

Mary nods, a trembling smile playing on her lips. She shakes her head. "I still can't believe it. He never will." But she walks between the metal doors that slide open just enough to let her in and vanishes into the depths of the Hall.

Wally stands there. And waits. And gets bored _really_ quickly.

He reaches up to scratch his neck. Since he doesn't really like the idea of looking at the inhibitor collar every time he walked past a reflective surface, and it'll take him about ten minutes unsupervised in a lab to get the stupid piece of junk off, he took the turtleneck he found in the pile of clothes Babs dumped in his room. It covers up he collar quite nicely. He doesn't really want his parents to see it.

A flash of yellow at the corner of the hallway catches the speedster's attention, and he turns to look.

Nothing.

Frowning, he turns back towards the door, keeping watch on the spot out of the corner of his eye.

There it is! A bit of yellow, appearing and vanishing in the blink of an eye.

As stealthily as possible, he slips along the wall, under the security camera line of sight, and peers around the corner.

Nothing.

_Okay, this is really starting to get on my nerves._

There's another yellow flash at the end of the hallway to his left, and he spins around.

"Ah! Ha?"

Once again, nothing's there.

_Seriously?_

He scowls and trots down the hallway to try and see what's going on. It proves to be a very short hallway, containing a broom closet and not much else. Turning on his heel to survey the narrow area, he spots yet _another _flash of yellow from inside the closet.

_Gotcha this time!_

He tiptoes over to the closet and grips the handle, before throwing it open dramatically.

"Ah-ha! Ha?"

Empty.

_What?_

He steps inside the closet. Is there a secret passage in here or something? This is the Hall of Justice, and if one of the Bats has supervised its construction, he won't be surprised to find it riddled with trapdoors, secret passages, and overly large air ducts perfectly suited to crawling around in.

A quick inspection reveals absolutely nothing someone hiding in here might use to escape. He turns to face the door again, when a yellow flare casts a dim light over the closet, and there's a hand over his mouth and an arm keeping his wrapped to his side. He flinches and starts to struggle, but the hands just squeeze tighter.

"Shut up and stop moving," a voice hisses in his ear. The accent sounds vaguely Spanish, but it's totally unfamiliar. "Listen very, very carefully. You need to remember everything I tell you if you want answers about what's happened to the world. And a way to fix it."

Wally holds very still.

"Good. Make sure you get to your aunt's grave as soon as possible. It's in the Central City mausoleum. Go in alone or find an excuse to be left alone. From the entrance, take the first right, third left, second right, and then press the light switch into the wall. The passcode's Faraday's first law. You get all that?"

Wally nods, his brain spinning to keep up with the information.

"Good. Remember, this conversation never happened."

There's a second flash of yellow light and the hands over his mouth and holding his arms in place are gone.

_Well…that was…weird...what just happened here?_

"Wally?" He can hear his mother calling out. "Wally! Where are you?"

"Mary." That's his father's voice. "I'm sorry. I miss him too. But—"

"Rudy, you don't understand. He was _here._ It wasn't a trick or an illusion or—or a hallucination! He was here! It was him!" She sounds desperate, as though she's trying to convince herself and starting to doubt what she knows to be true.

_Oh, man, mom…_

Wally ducks out of the closet and runs down the hall, back the way he came. With every too-slow step he curses the stupid, stupid, stupid, _stupid_ collar that's holding him back from his parents.

"Mary, he's not here."

Wally comes up right behind them, staying as silent as possible until he's less than a foot away.

"Geez, Dad. Have a little faith in me."

Rudy freezes in place, then turns around to stare at Wally, who gives a sheepish wave.

He is not prepared for the fist that comes hurtling at his face.

Once again, he curses the _stupid_ collar around his neck as only reflexes that Black Canary insisted he hone save him from the punch.

"What the _hell,_ Dad?" he demands from where he has dropped to the floor.

"You sick bastard! How can you _do _this to me? To us?"

"Rudy, stop!" Mary is intervening. "It's really Wally. _Our_ Wally. He's back. He's here!"

The older West stops swinging, staring at Wally in shock.

"What…but…how?"

"Time travel's a bitch," Wally says, slowly getting to his feet.

"Watch your language," both of his parents chorus. Rudy swallows, and reaches out to touch Wally's face. Wally doesn't flinch away, and after a moment, Rudy pulls him into a tight, bone-cracking hug.

"I can't believe it. You're here. You're really here."

"Yeah, Dad." Wally's not sure what's worse—the crushing hug or the crushing guilt. He holds his dad even tighter, hoping to chase the awful feelings away. "I am."

* * *

_"Did you pass the message?"_

_"_Si, señora. _Just like you asked. He knows where to go."_

_"So it's finally happening. Is everything ready there?"_

_"Just about. Neut's fussing about the power levels, Will and Roy still hate the plan, Tye and Sam are still trying to figure out how to trap Impulse—well, Tye's trying to convince Sam to let him kidnap Jaime as bait and Sam's saying no—"_

_"Tell them that Impulse won't pose a problem. As soon as Wally shares what we tell him, Bart will be on our side. They just need to keep an eye on him for pickup."_

_"_Tengo._ I'll let them know. And Mila said to tell you she's still getting alerts from Oa and they want her back there."_

_"She's not going, is she? Milagro of all people ought to know that we're in the critical stage here."_

_"She told them to go to hell. Politely, of course."_

_"Of course."_

_"Is _he_ holding up his end of the bargain?"_

_A pause. "He wants the world back to the way it used to be as much as we do."_

_"Yeah. So he can keep being a—"_

_"As hard as it is to admit, we need his help. And he needs us just as much as we need him."_

_"You can't trust him."_

_"I trust him about as far as I could throw him. But if there's one thing you can count on that man for, it's that he'll always do what's in his own best interest."_

_"It's _his_ fault we're in this mess in the first place!"_

_"I _know. _Don't you dare think I've forgotten that. But again, as much as I hate to admit it, we need him. And he knows it."_

_"I still don't like it."_

_"You don't have to like it. You just have to deal with it. We all do."_

_A sigh. "Fine. This is El Dorado, signing off."_

* * *

***Pokes head out of hiding* Uhhhh…hi? (dodges rotten tomato.) Yeah…late chapter is late. And short. And possibly suckish. But I had to get something uploaded or it probably would have rotted on my computer for another week. **

**I don't have any excuses except…life. Which is busy. And sucks. And if I have to write one more sentence on symbolism in ****_Wuthering Heights, _****to quote Mai: "I'm gonna throw up."**

**All in all, life is hitting me with a sledgehammer right now. And laughing. (Life is a lot like Harley Quinn, come to think of it…no! No! No more symbolism!) So just leave me a nice review. I would really appreciate it.**

**The next chapter will be up in…a week? Maybe two? I have a lot of work and I've fallen out of sync with this story, so I'll wait for inspiration before I upload anything. Two weeks is the absolute deadline, though. **

**So, notes on this chapter.**

**Wally did indeed return. And he's starting to realize just how much stuff has changed. And get hit with the whole guilt trip that comes from his 'death' being basically the catalyst for world domination.**

**The person in the closet was Ed delivering the message. He was trying to draw Wally away from the cameras so he could tell Wally without getting caught, hence the whole disappearing-reappearing thing. Wally kept seeing the scarf.**

**Faraday's law is something to do with electrochemisty, and since Wally's a science geek, I figured he'd know something about it. I don't, because I suck at science.**

**I don't subscribe to the whole "abused-Wally" headcanon. As far as I see it, he's on good terms with his parents, and the only reason he didn't make it down there before is because for him, it hasn't been that long, and it just sunk in for him.**

**The person on the other end of the comm is someone you have not met yet. Let's just say that they're the current leader of the Outsiders, although they never appeared as such in the comics. Guesses are always welcome, since they help me nail down how much of the plot I'm managing to portray and yet not give away.**

**Mailbox time!**

**Xoraan: Thanks! I recently discovered the animated TV show (which isn't that bad) and it was too much fun to resist. Yeah, they were, and yeah, he would be…(ehehehehehehehehehe…)**

**anon (guest): Thank you. I hope this was okay. Thanks for the review!**

**Guest 1: Uh, no…sorry…Nightwing's kinda evil-ish…and Batman is in an undisclosed location that I'm trying to figure out how to bring in…**

**1****st**** female scarlet speedster: Thanks! Should I send flowers to your funeral?**

**Flightfoot Keyseeker: Thank you! And Jaime was mean because 1, I ship Bluepulse and Bart would have been seriously torn up by Wally's death, meaning Jaime would take his side, and 2, Tye touched on a particularly hurtful subject, so he retaliated in kind. Plus, I really like writing friendship-destroying scenes. I don't know why! They're just fun…And yay!**

**Guest 2: Yes, I know. If you read last chapter closely enough, you'll see that I do indeed mention Lian a grand total of three times by name. This kid is based off of the son Jade had with Catman in the comics, but she had him with RA here because fanfic and life.**

**Guest 3: Static is not part of the Outsiders in the comics, but Black Lightning is, and that is one of my reasons.**


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